We will send you fully itemised bills each month. When you register you can choose either to receive online bills for free (you receive an email from us and log in to your secure online account to view your bill) or in the post (please note that paper billing costs £1.00 per monthly bill)
We will provide you with complete details of the calls you have made each month, together with any other services you have such as line rental and broadband. Also, look out for important service updates and special offers.
Details of the calls you have made will include:
Your bill will detail the total number of national, international and mobile calls you have made, for each line you have registered with us.
Your bill will also detail any payments you have made with us recently and the current balance of your account (payments you have made within the prior seven days of receiving the bill may not show). The payment due date will also be clearly marked, so please remember to pay your bill on time to avoid receiving unnecessary reminders or late payment charges, or having your account suspended.
Paying by Direct Debit is the quick and easy way to pay your bill. You will also be protected by the Direct Debit guarantee.
You can also pay your bill in the following ways:
However paying by these ways may incur an extra fee for administration. This charge will be added to your monthly bill.
Please call credit control on 0845 215 3851 as soon as possible if you think you may have difficulty in paying your bill. If there are special circumstances, we may be able to agree special arrangements with you to prevent disruption of your telephone and/or broadband service. If we are unable to get a satisfactory reason for the non-payment we may suspend or disconnect your service. However we will phone or write you to advise in advance that we plan to disconnect your service. This would usually take place within 7 days of our letter.
At this point, we may refer your account to a debt collection agency that has the authority to recover unpaid bills on our behalf. This process may lead to you being registered with a national credit agency, which will affect your credit rating. We may add any extra costs incurred to your outstanding balance.
Our outside agencies meet the standard approved by the relevant industry organisation. Details of these outside agencies can be provided on request - please phone credit control on 0845 215 3851.
You can receive just one bill if you take on first:telecom line rental as well as your chosen call plan from us. If, however, you decide to keep your telephone line with BT, they will continue to bill you for this and maintain your line. Therefore you will receive one bill from us and another bill for your line rental from BT.
IMPORTANT: If you do have BT line rental you should check that it is the BT Unlimited Weekend Plan. Failing to do so could cost you more than necessary.
If calls are detailed on your bill that you don't recognise, don't panic. It could be the way the area is described - it may mention the closest town or area, rather than the exact place you called. If you are sure you have not made the call, check with other members of your household or guests at your house. If you suspect fraudulent use of your telephone, call customer services on 0845 215 1640. If necessary we can arrange call barring on certain calls to help protect you.
When we prepare bills, we check them thoroughly to make sure we have charged you correctly. If you do not understand, or disagree with any part of your bill, please call us on the number quoted on your bill.
You are liable for the costs of all calls that you make over our network. If you query the charge for dialled calls, we will re-check the bill. If we find a mistake you will be credited accordingly.
Unexpectedly high bills can sometimes arise from using premium-rate services. We appreciate that this can be by accident or because you may not be aware of the cost. Calls made to live services or chat lines are charged at premium rates, and you should be told of the charge before you go ahead with the call.
The Independent Committee for the Supervision of Standards of Telephone Information Services (ICSTIS) regulates the content and promotion of premium-rate services through an industry code of practice. For more information or to make a complaint about a premium-rate service, you should contact ICSTIS on 0800 500 212. You can also see the ICSTIS code of practice on their website at www.icstis.org.uk
This service applies to customers who have chosen to receive their monthly bill online free of charge. To switch from paper billing to online billing, saving paper and £1 per month, call customer services on 0845 215 1640.
You will be notified by us via email that your new monthly bill is ready to be viewed. There will be a link in the email which will take you to the My Account online login screen. From here, enter in your user name and password and you will be taken to your account. You will then be able to download your new bill from here.
AOL users
Rather than clicking on the link within the email you receive from us, please open Internet Explorer and then enter the following address: www.firsttelecom/youraccount/youraccount-onlinebill.htm
You should then be able to enter your account number and password to view your bill.
Cookies
The privacy settings on your computer need to be set to 'accept all cookies' for you to view your first:telecom online bill. Please follow these steps to change your privacy settings so you can view your bill online:
Your login details are case sensitive (you must enter your username and password exactly as supplied to you, in lower case or capital letters where indicated).
Please enter the password as it is written on your welcome letter, including any capital letters.
For security we are unable to provide these details via email. Please contact customer services on 0845 215 1640 and they will be able to provide you with your account number and reset your password so you can access your online bill.
Rather than selecting to open the file from the website, select 'Save as' and save the file onto your Desktop. Then open 'Adobe Reader' and open the file that you have saved.